JANE BRADLEY

The average UK household will spend £1,802,000 – almost £30,000 a year – over the course of a lifetime, official figures have revealed.

An analysis of Office for National Statistics data shows annual costs peak at £45,000 – when the head of the household is aged between 30 and 49, due to the costs of raising children.

By comparison, pensioner household expenditure drops to £25,000 a year when the head of the household is aged between 65 and 74, and to £17,000 for those aged 75 and above, according to the Prudential.

Housing is the single largest expense for a typical UK household, with mortgages, rent, repairs, energy and council tax costing, on average, a total of £508,000 over a lifetime.

The figures are published as more and more households face the financial squeeze caused by spiralling costs and constrained incomes.

But Prudential, which compiled out the report, warned that the typical amount of money needed by an average household was not enough to cover costs in retirement.

Vince Smith-Hughes, retirement expert at Prudential, said the figures showed that the typical family would find themselves facing a gulf of £14,000 a year if they relied on the state pension to pay their bills.

He said: “These figures are startling,” he said, adding that the average retired household takes in £10,800 in state pension. To make up the difference, pensioners will have to dig deep into their savings or personal pension plans, unless they simply choose to go without.

“Although living costs do fall as people reach their twilight years, health costs tend to increase, so the average household costs are nowhere near covered by the state pension, even in households with two pension incomes.”

In addition to housing costs, however, the average household also splashes out £230,000 on recreation and culture and, it is claimed, £128,000 on restaurants and hotels.

The former category would include spending on televisions, computers, newspapers and books, gardening, games, musical instruments and toys, as well as lottery tickets, holidays, tickets to the cinema, concerts, sporting events and zoo trips. Money spent on household pets is also included, such as food and vet appointments.

Meanwhile, transport – including petrol, car insurance, repairs, season tickets, taxis and flights – make up the third biggest drain on family budgets, costing households £212,000 in total.